This is an introduction to a series of sermons on the coat of many colors – Free Power point is available through E-Mail retssi@bellsouth.net
Several Illustrations, points, and the main idea for this series of sermons dealing with the coat of many colors was from James May’s sermon, “A Coat Of Many Colors.” Also Several Illustrations and points came from Gerald Flury’s sermon, “Three Coats,” and many other resources were used to help compile this series! Depending on how or if you break up the different colors, it could take about 12 to 16 weeks to cover the material.
This can be used for Sunday School, Sunday night, or like I did, use it to boost the mid week service. Some of the colors can be broken up into two lessons! Have yourself a coat of many colors made and wear it, I did and they loved it! I hope this series will be a blessing to you and your congregation!
A Coat of Many Colors – Intro Sermon To The Series:
If you were to take the word coats and research the Bible you will find that it is mentioned a number of times.
Some of the more familiar ones are:
*God made Adam and Eve coats of skins after their fall in the garden.
*Elisha desired the mantle or coat of Elijah, which was used in performing many miracles.
*Probably the most famous and familiar of all coats in the bible would have been the coat of many colors which was given to Joseph by his dad. Sunday School at its best!
Let us read the text for today:
Genesis 37:1-3 (KJV) 1 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
I believe it is important for us to start with some background information
The fact is this, that Jacob, now called Israel, really cared and loved all of his children.
As a father He provided for his children, and as most fathers should do, he spent time with each of his sons and his daughters, training them to be successful in life.
I believe that He taught them about God and the importance of being respectful to God and His ways. There were probably days that he would sit around the dinner table and tell them the story’s of his personal encounters with God, especially at what took place at Bethel.
But you know, you can do everything you are suppose to as a parent teaching and training your kids proper way and they will still disappoint you.
According to God’s Word Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah, and two concubines named Bilhah and Zilpah.
Things were quite different in those days and men were allowed to have multiple wives and concubines. It was actually his two wives who convinced Israel to have the two concubines. All four of these women bore children for Jacob and all of their children combined, the twelve son’s make up the 12 tribes of Israel.
But as you study the scriptures, you will find that Jacob’s favorite wife stands out. He Loved Rachel! Rachel died though giving birth Benjamin, his youngest son.
Because Jacob loved Rachel more than the other women in his life, it would be easy to understand why he loved Joseph and Benjamin more.
Jacob undoubtedly did not learn his lesson from his own experience with his father and brother.
He should have known that playing favorites would cause trouble. His own father had favored the elder brother, and Jacob knew what it was to be discriminated against.
But here he is doing the very same thing with Joseph.
We can understand his feelings, knowing that Rachel was the true love of his life -- she was what made his world spin -- and Joseph is really a fine boy, and Jacob loves him dearly.
While all this is true, it still is not an excuse. He should not have made him that coat of many colors.
The point that I want you to understand, more than anything else, for the purpose of this series is this – Jacob loved Joseph and the love he had for his son began to show in the things that He did.
Jacob had big dreams for Joseph. His hopes and concerns for Joseph was manifested in the special coat that he made.
Even though that coat became a focal point of the hatred that Joseph’s brothers had for him, that coat still presented a message to Joseph, to his dad and in turn to every one of the siblings.
A coat of many colors carries a special meaning.
It was more than just a gift to show a love that a father has for his son. It was more than just an ordinary coat.
A. This Was A Coat Of Confirmation.
1. It was confirming his position.
Jacob was telling everyone that Joseph had been promoted in the family.
You have to understand the time period, in that day, a coat was worn by children of the upper ranks in the family.
This coat was not a garment of a worker but the garment of a superior. Someone who had a position of authority or oversight, upper management you might say.
2. It was confirming his nobility.
Reuben lost all his rights as firstborn due to his sin of adultery with his father’s concubine. Now he had forfeited his very own birthright due to stupidity. In that day, the birthright was entitled to the firstborn son, not only that but he was to receive a double inheritance and the right to become the head of the family.
He did one stupid thing and He lost it all.
So Jacob chose Joseph and marked him to receive it. Scripture says that it was transferred to Joseph.
1 Chronicles 5:1-2 (KJV) 1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. 2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's:)
You see this passage makes it very clear that because of Reuben’s adultery, his double inheritance was given to Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. In addition, his leadership position over the family was given to Judah.
Now because of Rubens stupidity, Joseph move up in the ranks!
B. This Was A Coat Of Contention.
As a result of the fathers actions, this coat now became a point of contention in the family.
1. It stirred up Hatred and Animosity.
Animosity defined is a deep-seated feeling or spirit of ill will & resentment arousing active hostility – and that is exactly what we find taking place here.
Joseph’s brothers now truly hated him and every time they saw him with that coat on, the ill will and resentment grew.
Genesis 37:4 (KJV) 4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
They hated him so much that they could not even talk to him in a civil manner, you know how families can be.
Every time these brothers saw this coat of many colors they were reminded of the contrast between Joseph’s life and their own. And yet it was sin and misbehavior in their own lives that caused his promotion.
Anger and bitterness turned into hatred. Hatred is a terrible sin because it generates other sins.
Proverbs 10:12 (KJV) 12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
Joseph’s brothers hated him for being all the things that they were not! No wonder they sought to kill him.
a. They hated him for his honesty.
b They hated him because of his new position.
c. They hated him because he was loved and favored by his father.
d. They hated him for being close to God.
Look at what the bible has to says about hating your brother. 1 John 3:15 (KJV) 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
God said, Hate is equal to murder; hate is the very same thing as murder.
This is exactly what Jesus Christ said in: Matthew 5:21-22 (KJV) 21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
They were ready to kill him but they didn’t. But you see according to the scriptures they did.
Be careful Anger, bitterness, and contempt can build and turn into hatred.
2. It stirred up Envy
Look in verse eleven, here it is reveled that his brothers envy him.
Genesis 37:11 (KJV) 11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
Did they envy him for his coat and position of privilege that he had received? Did they envy him because of the displays of their father’s affection toward Joseph? Did they envy the fact that even God seem to have a special place in his heart for Joseph?
Probably all of these things are a part of their envy and hatred of Joseph.
But Joseph added fuel to the fire by relating, in a somewhat arrogant manner, his dreams to his brothers and to his father that they would do homage to Joseph.
Note Jacob’s reaction in Genesis 37:10 (KJV) 10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
They envied him which intensifying their hatred for him.
What was to be a blessing became a point of contention.
C. This Was A Coat Of Confidence.
1. Jacob was telling everyone that he had confidence in Joseph.
That Joseph could do the job at hand.
2. Joseph showed us that he had confidence.
And then comes criticism! And it is not just the world criticizing you but it’s your family!
I know that there is no way to live the Christian life and not be criticized.
I believe that Joseph had the confidence he needed to get through it.
How do we know this? Because…
a. His mind was set on who he was.
Let me ask you, “Who Are You?”
I believe that his mind was set on who he was!
He was his father’s son!
He was favored by his father and he knew it.
Not only did Jacob love Joseph more than his older brothers but he demonstrated this favoritism openly and in a dramatic way. Jacob did not even try to hide his partiality towards Joseph that is why he give him a coat and not just any coat, but a coat of many colors.
He had confidence in his son.
b. His mind was set on his dreams.
The question is not can you dream, everyone has dreams don’t they.
But do you have the courage to act upon the dreams that you have been given. This was not just any dream, it was a God given dream! God given dreams have a divine purpose that far exceeds our own human dreams.
Joseph knew his dreams were important. Maybe he did not understand ever thing about them at that very moment. But he knew that there was something to them.
Maybe one of the purposes of the dreams that God gave Joseph was to sustain him through the difficult times that he was going to face. To have a vision!
c. His mind was set on God.
Over and over the scripture says that the Lord was with Joseph!
In studying the scripture you never find in the one-hundred-and-ten-year life of Joseph did he ever seem to take his eyes off God or cease to trust him even for one moment.
The single most important trait of Joseph was his faithfulness to God.
Joseph never forgot who God was, not even during his most terrible days of his life.
• The Lord was with him in Persecution.
• The Lord was with him in false accusation
• The Lord was with him in prison.
• The Lord was with him in the interpretations of the dreams. He always gave God the Glory!
Scripture never show that he ever complained or grumbled against God.
D. This Was A Coat Of Conversation!
Just wearing a coat of many colors would have people talking!
This coat was a Tunic with long sleeves that reach all the way down to the ankles.
You see, the ordinary robe in those days consisted of one piece of cloth about ten feet long. They would put a hole in the middle of it and stick the head through this hole. Half of the cloth would drop down the front of the body and half the cloth down the back of the body.
Then they would tie it together around the waist or seam up the sides, and that would be their coat. Most of them did not have sleeves. So to put sleeves in the coat of any person would set him apart from the others. And certainly a coat of many colors would make him stand out even more.
So we could ask the question, What, is so significant about a coat of many colors?
The fact is this, as after studying this passage of scripture, you will noticed that it was not just a special coat made of different kinds of animal skins, or even a coat made of extra fine cloth, but it was a coat of many colors.
That spoke to me, surly there must be something about those colors in the coat. I believe that each color speaks within itself. What were the colors saying?
(Display an artwork image of the coat of many colors)
As I began to look at the Word of God to find evidence of different colors in the scriptures I was struck with the message that those colors must have or could have carried with them.
By looking at those meanings, I believe that we can get a vision of what a father should think of his children, and what his hopes and dreams for each of them would be.
So over the next 11 or so weeks we will look at some of the colors that may have been in Joseph’s coat and see what Israel could have seen in Joseph when it was given to him.
